PEOPLE are being warned to prepare for what the Met Office call a “severe storm” tonight.

An Amber warning is still in place for Worcestershire for strong winds and storms tonight and into tomorrow morning.

Gusts of between 60 to 80 mph are predicted in the South West, moving north and eastwards overnight, along with heavy persistent rain which could cause localised flooding.

There are fears about falling trees, buildings being damaged, flooding and disruption to power supplies and travel.

Paul Michaelwaite, of netweather.tv based in Pershore, said today will start off showery.

“It will be blustery with some showers around,” he said. “Late afternoon onwards, the winds could increase and heavy rain could arrive and that will last overnight and into Monday.

“It could be really nasty. It’s going to sweep in quite quickly and the centre of it probably won’t be too far from us.

“There’s potential there for 60 to 80mph gusts and torrential persistent rain."

Worcestershire County Council officers are monitoring conditions over the weekend and additional highways teams, including gulley emptiers and tree removal contractors, will be on standby.

Key flooding hotspots and ford crossings are also being checked ahead of the potential storm.

Frank Saunders, Chief Forecaster at the Met Office, said: "We are confident that a severe storm will affect Britain on Sunday night and Monday.

“We are now looking at refining the details about which areas will see the strongest winds and the heaviest rain.

"This is a developing situation and we'd advise people to stay up to date with our forecasts and warnings over the weekend, and be prepared to change their plans if necessary.”